Which wires do I use for a pair of monitors...

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jayphon

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I just purchased a BX5 (sorry for making another thread for this btw), and I'm confused about what wire I'm supposed to purchase. Anyhow, I also want to purchase higher quality wires but I just need to know what the wires are called first. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the technical stuff...

Thanks, guys.. hope these are good for my usage.
 
If they connect like the BX8 you can use a balanced or unbalanced line out of the mixer into the speaker. That is to say, XLR cables, TRS cables, or instrument cables...






...say, didn't they put that in the MANUAL?
 
yep...what he said...except for not instrument cables. you generally want to get a pair that are thicker. Like 12ga. cable would be fine. Mic cable and instrument cable is usually 20-23ga. Here's some 5ft cable...they also make shorter if you need: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SKJ205/
 
bennychico11, the M-Audio BX5s are powered. You need instrument (unbalanced) or mic (balanced) inputs. 12ga would be appropriate for passive speakers.
 
Well, yes and no. The BX5's can be run off instrument, mic, or patch cords just fine. However, the 1/4" ins are balanced. Of course, it also depnds on what monitor outs you have to come from. Most are balanced 1/4", but, for instance, my Roland VS1824CD has RCA monitor outs, so you have to go from RCA to XLR or TRS.
However, the original poster called those cables "wires", so I'm guessing he doesn't know jack, and all this technobabble is just going to give him headaches, so here's the non-Reader's Digest version.-
The monitors have 3 pin jacks, called XLR, like mic cables. They also have 1/4" jacks, like a guitar cable. There are 2 types- TS (tip-sleeve) and TRS (tip-ring-sleeve), which looks like a stereo plug. Cable connections with 3 connectors, such as XLR and TRS are generally balanced, which uses the third conductor as a common ground. This reduces noise in longer runs of cable, and has a few other advantages. The 1/4" jacks on your speakers want TRS, and are so labeled. The guys above are debating the gauge and type of shielding that the cables shoud have. For cables that short, and the fairly weak signal the cables are carrying, almost any gauge will work. However, I would not recommend an unshielded cable. Powered monitors are prone to picking up radio frequency interference (RFI), and with unshielded cables, you are likely to hear AM radio coming out of your monitors.
First, figure out what kind of plug you need for whatever your monitor outs are. Then get two good studio patch cables that go from those (whatever they are) to either a 1/4" TRS, or a male XLR.-Richie
 
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